Sam Altman is the President of Y Combinator. It’s one of the most prestigious start-up incubators in the world. It’s been churning out high growth tech companies for years. The advice Sam (and Paul Graham before him) gives to all founders, product managers and innovators he works with is to focus on developing customers who love you. It’s all about love. It’s more important than developing hundreds, thousands or even a million people who think you’re ‘kinda alright’.

It’s those that love you that become loyal. It’s those that love you that tell their friends and promote you to others. They give you feedback. They help you learn. They’re prepared to invest in you.

Those that merely like you ideas will leave as soon as the next big thing comes along. They might generate short-term upside, but they don’t create a strong foundation.

If the product manager can’t demonstrate a high-degree of love from a small number of users in their idea to Sam then it’s highly unlikely that any investment will be granted. It’s that important.

Remember: Love is better than like.

ConsiderWho are the users or customers who love your idea? Who might be the ones who could love your solution enough to tell their friends?

Sign up to receive our newsletter and new posts

I'm the Chief Operating Officer for Emergn and Product Manager for VFQ®. Inbetween my day job running Emergn and working with our clients, I write content and develop courses for Value, Flow, Quality®. I’m passionate about learning, helping people change and own the way they work, and helping them develop their own passions.